Operation: LEAD
by Gemmz
Summary: Numbuh One is under a lot of pressure, while Numbuh Four is beginning to think that he would be a better leader himself. Prepare for some craziness, and don't say I didn't warn you. Bits of 3x4 and 1x5 kinda.


Just another fanfic by yours truly. Nothing more, nothing less. Have fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own KND. Wish I did. But I don't.

* * *

**Operation: L.E.A.D:**

**Leader**

**Enthusiasts**

**Are**

**Dumb **

The siren went off at three in the morning. The operatives of Sector V were sleepy, but were still able to run to the screen room energetically. Numbuh 65.3 appeared on the large screen.

"You're sector is about to be attacked," Numbuh 65.3 told the team.

"Who's the cruddy villain this time?" Numbuh Four asked.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that yet," Numbuh 65.3 replied.

The kids looked confused. "Well why not?" questioned Numbuh Two.

"Because regulations state that I cannot deliver classified information unless your leader is receiving it," Numbuh 65.3 explained.

The four kids looked around. Numbuh One was missing. "Then tell us the info and we'll pass it on to him," Numbuh Five said.

"No can do," Numbuh 65.3 said in a serious tone. "That would be breaking the rules, which I'm not allowed to break. The rules say so!"

The kids groaned. "I guess we should go get Numbuh One," Numbuh Two shrugged.

"Yes, you should," Numbuh 65.3 agreed. "Now do that now or you won't get the top secret info in time."

"In time for what?" Numbuh Three asked.

Suddenly there was a CRASH from behind which startled them. The four kids turned round in shock.

"You kids have been missing all your check-ups!" Knightbrace announced, pulling out a toothpaste gun. "Imagine what could be happening to your teeth right now!"

There was no time to get weapons, so Numbuh Five quickly yelled out, "Kids Next Door, battle stations!" and the kids attacked using only their combat skills.

Numbuh Four was pretty confident fighting like this, and charged right for Knightbrace. But no matter what they did, he had one heck of a nasty weapon on him.

Later, after a humiliating defeat, Numbuh One walked in. "Sorry I'm late, guys," he said quickly. "Is anyone injured?"

"Of course we're injured!" Numbuh Four wailed. "Our teeth are... _shiny_!"

That evening, the Kids Next Door were lazing around doing whatever they wanted. Numbuhs Two through Five were in the living room, but Numbuh One had already gone to bed. Suddenly the siren rang out again.

Numbuhs Three and Four ran straight for the screen room. Numbuh Two was about to, when Numbuh Five stopped him. "Wait - we'll probably need Numbuh One for this," she said. "You go get him."

"Aye, aye, Captain Numbuh Five sir ma'am!" Numbuh Two saluted.

"Don't do that," Numbuh Five said quietly, making for the screen room.

Numbuh Two ran towards Numbuh One's bedroom. He was almost there, when suddenly someone flew in his way. That someone said, "Naughty childrens who miss their dental check-ups must feel the stinging wrath of Count Spankulot!"

Numbuh Two screamed and began to run in the opposite direction, but he didn't get very far. While being lectured by Numbuh 65.3 once again, the others heard Numbuh Two's pained cries, so they went to find him.

"My butt hurts..." Numbuh Two groaned, lying on the floor. Numbuh Five tried to help him up, but he was too heavy and he landed back on the floor... unfortunately, on his backside. "Yow!" he wailed.

"We gotta get you to the med lab," Numbuh Five said. "Then you've gotta relax. At least he's gone now."

"Umm... guys?" Numbuh Four gulped. "If Count Spankulot's gone away now... then who's that guy?"

Suddenly from behind the others, the vampire swooped down and attacked once again. He then disappeared into the midst of the night (although it was evening, and not quite night time yet, but anyways that's not the point).

Numbuh One soon came out from his room. "Hey! You got away!" Numbuh Three said angrily to her leader.

"What happened this time?" Numbuh One asked, looking a little confused.

"Ah, nothing much," Numbuh Four replied sarcastically. "We just had the crud spanked out of us. That's all - no biggy!"

Numbuh One slept in the next day. It wasn't like him to be like this, and the others were beginning to wonder what was going on. Numbuh Four was pacing up and down the Treehouse floor. The others had warned him that if he didn't stop, he'd wear out the floorboards and end up falling through to the below level. "Man, has Numbuh One been lazy lately or what?" he asked. "I'm getting kinda worried."

"Don't worry, Numbuh Four!" Numbuh Three smiled. "Numbuh One's just been busy with all the missions. He's not ill, he's just tired!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Numbuh Four said, turning round to face his teammates. "There's nothing wrong with him, but he's sleeping in anyway. What kind of a cruddy leader does he think he is?"

"In case you haven't noticed," Numbuh Five said angrily. "Numbuh One's not a 'cruddy leader'. He's a great leader - and you know it!"

"No, he's terrible!" Numbuh Four said, raising his voice. "And _you_ know it! He's so lazy he could sleep through the apocalypse. He doesn't even care about his job anymore!"

"Numbuh Four!" Numbuh Five gasped, her voice now at the same level as his. "Take that back!"

"No way!" Numbuh Four yelled, a little louder than before. "You know I'm right! Why don't you just admit it? If Numbuh One's so _dedicated_ he'd actually put effort into his job!"

"Well maybe there's a reason why he's suddenly changed!" Numbuh Five yelled back.

"Yeah, 'cause he's slacking off!" Numbuh Four mumbled.

"Why are you being so hard on him?" Numbuh Five asked, not shouting this time but with the same tone of anger in her voice. "It's not like you could do any better."

"You know what?" Numbuh Four smirked. "I'd like to put that to the test."

"What are you talking about now?" Numbuh Five groaned.

"I'm gonna show you all just what a leader's supposed to be like," Numbuh Four announced. "Then you'll all see how much Numbuh One needs to improve!"

"Numbuh One does not need to improve!" Numbuh Five said, starting to raise her voice again. "He's good at his job, and way better than you could ever be at it - and you know that!"

"Sounds even more like a challenge," Numbuh Four smiled. "You don't think I can pull it off, do you?"

"What makes you think you can?" Numbuh Five asked.

"I've successfully led this sector before," Numbuh Four replied. "I think I can do it again!"

"Uh... successfully?" Numbuh Two asked.

"Oh now don't you take her side!" Numbuh Four growled. "I was the best, and if I tried again I still would be."

Numbuh Two smiled. "Well then, I think we should let you try it out for a day or two."

"What?" Numbuh Five gasped. "Numbuh Two! How could you?"

"Aw come on," Numbuh Two said cheerfully. Then quietly to Numbuh Five, he said, "It's the only way he'll ever learn. Besides, it'll be funny!"

Numbuh Five smiled. "Well, Numbuh Four," she said. "Numbuh Five owes you an apology for being so quick to judge you. Why don't you go ahead and impress us with your amazing leadership talents?"

Numbuh Four hadn't noticed the hint of sarcasm in her voice, so he said, "I'm glad you finally gave in to me. I won't fail you!"

After the others had finished breakfast, Numbuh One was still in his room sleeping. "You know what?" Numbuh Four asked the others, while they were lazing around in the meeting room. "I'd like it if a cruddy villain showed up right now just so we could prove we don't need Numbuh One's help."

Suddenly, Stickybeard swung on a thick piece of rope (tied to the sky maybe?) right through a nearby window, smashing it loudly into hundreds of tiny pieces. "We pirates have yer Treehouse surrounded!" he announced as he landed on the floor. "Give up all ye candy or we'll take it by force."

"Not while we can stop you!" Numbuh Four yelled. "Kids Next Door, battle stations!"

Numbuh Two squirted the pirate with sticky nacho cheese, so that Stickybeard couldn't move too easily. To keep him on the spot, Numbuh Five then shot gum at his feet, which stuck him to the ground. "Looks like you'll be changing your name to Sticky-Feet!" Numbuh Two laughed, until Numbuh Five shot a piece of gum into his mouth so that he couldn't say anything else.

"Shoulda thought of doing that a long time ago," Numbuh Five smiled to herself.

Numbuh Three came skipping over. "La-la-la-la-la-la-la! Hey, Numbuh Four!" she stopped skipping when she reached Stickybeard. "What am I supposed to do again?"

"Have you called arctic prison yet?" Numbuh Four asked.

"Oopsy!" Numbuh Three gasped, her sleeve-covered hands over her mouth. "I'll do that now." And she ran off to do that.

"Numbuh Four, we gotta go get more ammo," Numbuh Two said, noticing he and Numbuh Five had run out of cheese and gum.

"No need," Numbuh Four said. "We've already caught the enemy."

"Yeah but not his henchmen!" Numbuh Two gulped, his goggles locked on Chewy and Gooey from the window Stickybeard had broken.

"Aw crud," Numbuh Four shouted as the two pirates pushed past him. "They weren't supposed to come in. I hadn't thought up a plan for that!"

"Numbuh One would have thought up something," Numbuh Five mumbled.

"Well Numbuh One hasn't even bothered to wake up!" Numbuh Four yelled aggressively.

Suddenly, from the same window, Knightbrace came in after doing a clever pole vault stunt with an oversized toothbrush. "You kids may have kept your candy, but you won't be getting any cavities on my watch!" he announced, while still in the air.

He landed on the ground and skidded on a misplaced Rainbow Monkey. He bumped into Chewy and Gooey, and all three of them crashed into a surprised Stickybeard. The four villains were stuck together by all the cheese and gum that already covered most of Stickybeard's body. Just then they all heard a rocket land outside.

"We've come for the captured villains," Numbuh 92 announced as he and Numbuh 93 stepped out of the large shuttle and into the room (through the broken window of course - since everyone's using that they might as well replace it with a door).

They handcuffed the four adults together and then used a laser to cut away the gum that held them to the ground. The villains were then shipped off to KND Arctic Prison - where they'd stay for a long time. "Au revoir!" Chewy and Gooey called to the operatives.

"See? I told you so!" Numbuh Four went on to the other operatives. "Thanks to me, we just captured a whole bunch of supervillains. What do you say to that?"

"Numbuh Five says beginner's luck," Numbuh Five shrugged. "That wasn't much of a mission. It doesn't prove anything."

"Yes it does," Numbuh Four protested. "It proves that I'm a way better leader than Numbuh One - just like I said!"

"Well actually, it was pretty good," Numbuh Three smiled. "I'm proud of you, Numbuh Four!"

Numbuh Four blushed a little. He continued, "As long as Numbuh One's not in leading condition, I'm gonna be the new leader around here!"

"Uh, Numbuh Four," Numbuh Two said, looking a little nervous. "I really think you should let Numbuh One know what you're doing. He might be mad if he finds out for himself."

"Ah, he'll be cool with it," Numbuh Four said calmly. "Besides, he's only getting what he deserves. If he's being a bad leader, he'd be better off being no leader at all."

"Numbuh Four!" Numbuh Five yelled angrily.

"What?" Numbuh Four asked. "It's the truth. Numbuh One couldn't lead if our lives depended on it. Which it does!"

"Look, I dunno why he's been sleeping in so much any more than you do," Numbuh Five said. "But whatever it is sure has been tiring him out. And it's up to us as his teammates to look after him."

"That's the leader's job!" Numbuh Four said. "The leader has to look after everyone else. And I'm much better at doing that than he is!"

"We've all gotta support each other," Numbuh Five said, beginning to feel herself get angry again. "And that includes us looking after Numbuh One!"

"Well if you guys think you can look after each other, fine!" Numbuh Four yelled. "As for me, I've got a debrief to write up." And with that he left for his own room.

It was around midday, and the Kids Next Door were just finishing lunch while watching a Yipper cartoon. Finally, Numbuh One entered the room. "Morning, guys," he greeted, somewhat sleepy.

"You mean afternoon..." Numbuh Four began, which was followed by a nudge in the rib from Numbuh Two.

"So... you okay?" asked Numbuh Two, turning to face Numbuh One.

"Uh..." Numbuh One gulped. He did his best to look confident. "Yes, I'm fine. Are there any missions in line for us today?"

Numbuhs Two, Three and Five exchanged awkward expressions. Numbuh Four piped up, "You totally missed today's mission, Numbuh One! What were you thinking? Sleeping during a cruddy attack!"

"What?" Numbuh One gasped.

"Hey, it's alright," Numbuh Two said quickly. "We totally kicked the villains' butts and now they've been sent to Arctic Prison."

"Yup," Numbuh Four smiled proudly. "And it was me who led the team while you were sleeping!"

"So, you didn't need my help then?" Numbuh One asked, looking a little depressed.

"Of course not, silly!" Numbuh Three said cheerfully. "We were just fine!"

"I see," Numbuh One said quietly. "Well, just let me know when you need me... if you do need me..." and he went back into his room.

The was a long silence between the other four operatives. Numbuh Three looked confused, while Numbuh Two seemed worried. Numbuh Four was angry that Numbuh One hadn't credited him for his hard work as temporary leader. Numbuh Five was angry too, but for a different reason. "Well what did you say that for?" she yelled furiously at Numbuh Three. Numbuh Five then ran down the hallway heading for Numbuh One's room.

Numbuh Four continued to sulk while Numbuh Two gave Numbuh Three a harsh glare through his goggles. "What I say?" Numbuh Three shrugged.

Numbuh One was in his room (well obviously because that's where he was off to) looking through his backups he had made of the debriefs from previous missions. His leading seemed to be okay. He did his bit for the team, and gave the others instructions and support when they needed it. That's what a leader's expected to do, right? Or was it? Right now, he wasn't sure. He just groaned and held his head in his hands. A moment later he heard a knock on the door.

"Numbuh One?" a hushed voice called. "Can I come in?"

Numbuh One quickly ran to the door and opened it. "Hey, Numbuh Five," he said, fairly naturally. "You need help? Is there a mission?"

"Well, Numbuh Five needs to talk to you alright," Numbuh Five said. "About the last few days. What happened, Numbuh One? You usually never miss missions."

"I'm sorry I keep sleeping in, but there's just been so much going on," Numbuh One said. "Things that aren't mission-related."

"Like what?" Numbuh Five asked. "Anything you want help with?"

"Oh, nothing like that," Numbuh One shrugged. "It's just that Dad's forced me to take sousaphone lessons. Ugh! I can't stand the thing. So I've been running out of breath a lot and been getting a lot of headaches."

"Ouch," Numbuh Five smirked. "No wonder you've been sleeping so much."

"Not only that," Numbuh One sighed. "But in case you haven't noticed, Lizzie's been dragging me out on dates every night for the past two weeks. Like you hadn't realized that!"

"Oh yeah..." Numbuh Five said, as though she had noticed. The truth was, she hadn't actually noticed that he'd not been in the Treehouse over the nights. In fact, as far as she knew no one had really noticed.

"But these are no excuses," Numbuh One said, in a more confident tone. "I just have to get used to these things I guess. You know what parents are like."

"Guess so..." Numbuh Five said quietly, who was really thinking more about the Lizzie issue than the sousaphone issue.

"I'm getting used to it, though," Numbuh One smiled. "In no time I'll be completely back to my old self!"

"You think?" Numbuh Five asked, raising an eyebrow.

Numbuh One sighed sadly. "Well... not really," he said. "It might take a bit more time than I thought. Being leader is no easy job. This sector and our missions are my responsibility after all. I'm sorry I haven't been doing such a great job."

"Aww, come on, Numbuh One," Numbuh Five frowned. "We're all responsible for the things that go wrong, and if you've got a lot on your mind then we've got to look after you."

"But I'm supposed to be the leader..." Numbuh One began.

"... and you're a great leader," Numbuh Five smiled. "So we're gonna make sure you get enough rest and relaxing time. That's what teammates do!"

That afternoon, Numbuh One was having some alone time in his room. He'd thought about what Numbuh Five had said to him, and decided that he would do his best to take it easy when he could. After all, if he just wore himself out with more work then he'd end up getting ill and wouldn't have the energy to do anything - not a sensible thing to do.

Numbuh Three was having a tea party with her Rainbow Monkeys in her room. She had invited Numbuh Four but he had claimed to be busy working out in his room, preparing himself for the next adult attacks. The only ones in the living room right now were Numbuh Two and Numbuh Five.

"Sounds like Numbuh One's got a lot on his plate right now," Numbuh Two commented, after listening to what Numbuh Five had to say.

"All these back-to-back missions can't have helped," Numbuh Five groaned. "Poor Numbuh One - he's being forced into all sorts of things he's not up to, and he's taking it so well."

"Don't you think we should try and get him back into the swing of things?" asked Numbuh Two.

"Are you crazy?" Numbuh Five asked. "Numbuh One needs to get his energy back! We've gotta start taking responsibility - just because he's leader doesn't mean we can't look after him when he needs us. And Numbuh Five says he needs us now!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Numbuh Two smiled. "So how are we gonna help him?"

As if on queue, the doorbell rang. The two kids looked out a nearby window, and they weren't happy when they saw who it was. "Numbuh Five knows one thing we can do..." Numbuh Five smiled.

Numbuh Two went to answer the door. "Hey, Lizzie," he said unenthusiastically.

"Where's my Nigie?" Lizzie asked impatiently. "He's taking me out for dinner tonight, and then we're going to the movies. He'd better be ready!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Numbuh Two said sarcastically. "But your _Nigie_ is busy tonight, and he won't be able to come on your date."

"Oh, well I'm sorry too," Lizzie said innocently. Then not-so-innocently, she yelled, "I'm sorry that I can't take no for an answer!"

Lizzie pulled out what looked like a toy water pistol. Numbuh Two burst out laughing when he saw this. Lizzie then pressed a small red button on the side and the pistol suddenly transformed into a gigantic laser. Numbuh Two's laughter came to a halt. "That's big..." he squeaked nervously.

"Get Nigie down here or I'll blast you into a buhmillion pieces!" Lizzie yelled.

Well, it looked like Lizzie was ready to create many small pieces of Numbuh Two (sorry about that line - couldn't resist). That was Numbuh Five's queue. From the balcony outside her room, she used the same gum gun she had used in the previous battle against Stickybeard and fired at the top of Lizzie's head. Just for your info; the gum was white.

"Ugh!" Lizzie shrieked as the splats of gum hit her and stuck firmly to her hair. "Stupid pigeons! I'll have to go and wash my hair now."

Little did she know that washing the gum out was going to take forever - at least they wouldn't be seeing her for the rest of today or tonight. So off Lizzie ran back to her house, while Numbuh Two burst out laughing again. "Great shot, Numbuh Five!" he called between chuckles. "And to think they call _me_ Numbuh Two!"

This was the sort of joke that Numbuh Five would normally insult him for, but right now she was feeling so good about getting rid of Lizzie that she just laughed with him. Hey - I got two 'Numbuh Two' jokes in one chapter there. I should probably stop...

Numbuh Four had been working out for a couple of hours now. Strength-wise, he totally felt ready to beat the crud out of any adults that dare challenge him. But bodybuilding wasn't as easy as he liked to make it look. It used up a lot of energy, so he just flopped onto a punch bag that was on the floor (it had fallen off ten minutes ago because he'd hit it too much) and relaxed. He had hardly had time to catch his breath though, when a certain someone came barging through his door.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii, Numbuh Four!" Numbuh Three shrieked excitedly, running up to him. She then stopped and tilted her head. "What are you doing on the floor, silly?" she questioned, reaching out her sleeve-covered hands, offering to help him up.

"Ah, this training's kinda tiring," Numbuh Four replied. "I'm just gonna rest for a while."

"But what if some enemies come and attack us?" Numbuh Three asked quizzically. "What'll you do then?"

"Don't be silly," Numbuh Four said. "No one's gonna come at this time of day. It's starting to get dark already.

Numbuh Three pulled Numbuh Four off of the ground so that he was standing up on his feet. "Well if you're not doing anything else," she grinned. "You can always come into my room. I'm having another tea party!"

"I don't wanna be part of your cruddy girly games," Numbuh Four frowned, folding his arms, and in doing so forcing her to let go of his hands. "I like action, and besides... I'm a leader now!"

"But everyone else is busy!" Numbuh Three complained, looking a little hurt that he had turned her down. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

She moved in closer and her eyes became wide and innocent. Numbuh Four gulped and blushed at the same time. "Well..." he said. "Aw... alright then."

"Yay!" Numbuh Three cheered. She gave Numbuh Four a tight hug. "You're such a good friend, Wally!"

"Hey, uh... let's go then - don't wanna be late for the party," Numbuh Four said uneasily, but he was smiling sweetly. He blushed again when Numbuh Three dragged him into her room.

"Here we are!" Numbuh Three announced as they got to her room. She turned round to where her Rainbow Monkeys were all set up... and screamed loudly when she saw an uninvited guest.

"Those who claim to be leader when they don't have the training are naughty childrens," Count Spankulot announced. "And naughty childrens must feel the stinging wrath of Count Spankulot!"

"But... I haven't broken any rules!" Numbuh Three squeaked, while trembling nervously, hanging onto Numbuh Four's arm for support.

"Not you," Spankulot said. "But your friend has!"

"Crud," Numbuh Four gulped, before making a run for it.

While Numbuh Four ran down the corridor screaming his head off, Numbuh Three realized it was time for her to save Numbuh Four. So she picked up a nearby chair and threw it at the Count. It was only a small chair, but it managed to annoy him. So then Count Spankulot started chasing Numbuh Three. "You are a naughty children for throwing that chair," he said.

Now it was Numbuh Three's turn to run off screaming. Numbuh Four hadn't actually noticed that he had stopped being chased, so he was running away as well. Numbuh Three ran round a narrow corner. Then, when Count Spankulot turned the same corner KA-SOUSAPHONE! Basically, that means that Numbuh Five whacked him in the face with a sousaphone.

Count Spankulot dizzily fell to the ground. Numbuh Four, who had now done a full circuit of that level of the Treehouse, ran over to the Count and realized that this was his chance to be a hero. He looked at the dizzy vampire, then at the now broken sousaphone that Numbuh Five was holding.

"That's the best you can do?" Numbuh Four asked. "Alright - stand back and let the pro do the butt-kicking."

"Butt-kicking instead of butt-spanking, huh?" Numbuh Two asked, running over. "This should be good!"

While Numbuh Four did what he does best, Numbuh Five made for the stairs to go and put the sousaphone back. Numbuh Two turned round. "Why'd you use that thing, Numbuh Five?" he asked. "We have proper 2x4 technology weapons up here!"

"I know," Numbuh Five shrugged. "But using this just seemed like the right thing to do."

Numbuh Two didn't answer for a moment. He just paused to think about it for a while - then it suddenly clicked. Of course! How would Numbuh One be able to take sousaphone lessons while his sousaphone was broken? Numbuh Two smiled as he decided that maybe it really was wise to hit a vampire across the face with a sousaphone. He'd have to remember that one. As for now, he just relaxed as he watched Numbuh Four beat the crud out of Count Spankulot.

Meanwhile, after returning the sousaphone, Numbuh Five made her way back to her leader's room to see how he was doing. She knocked on the door, but there was no reply. So she gently opened the door slightly. Numbuh One was laying on his bed reading. "Numbuh One?" Numbuh Five called.

That startled him. "Who-ho-hoa!" Numbuh One squeaked, dropping his book onto his stomach. Numbuh Five couldn't help but giggle quietly. "Oh, sorry about that," Numbuh One said, looking a little embarrassed. "Didn't see you there."

"So, everything okay?" Numbuh Five asked.

"Actually," Numbuh One smiled. "Everything's great! Lizzie seemed to completely forget about our date, and Dad hasn't mentioned my sousaphone lesson for today yet. I don't know what happened, but I can't say it's a bad thing." Then his face dropped. "So what's it like not having me as the leader."

"Well, so far we've been pretty lucky," Numbuh Five shrugged. Seeing that Numbuh One wasn't completely happy, she went on, "Okay, if you wanna know the truth... it's not really working. The only time we can work well as a team is if we're all in it together. And well... it's not the same without you, Numbuh One."

Numbuh One smiled. "I wouldn't worry about it, Numbuh Five," he said in that confident tone Numbuh Five was always relieved to hear. "I'm feeling refreshed already. At this rate, hopefully I won't even sleep in tomorrow morning." He suddenly looked serious and said, "If I do, wake me... by any means necessary."

"You got it, boss!" Numbuh Five saluted playfully, deviously thinking of all the possible ways to wake him up in case that happened. Hmm... the 'straight-from-the-refrigerator bucket of water over the head' method was looking good...

"Aw crud, this thing must be defective!" Numbuh Four winged after Numbuh Two had creamed him for, like, the fifty-seventh time in a row at a video game they had been playing for three straight hours. "My control pad's not working!"

"You're just sore 'cause you stink," Numbuh Two sniggered. It was like this every time they played video games. Numbuh Two never seemed to get tired of it, and Numbuh Four never seemed to learn.

"Well, at least when it comes to leading I'm the best there is!" Numbuh Four began to boast.

"Oh, here we go..." Numbuh Two muttered to himself.

"What you say?" Numbuh Four asked. "I didn't quite catch that."

"If you're so confident," Numbuh Two smiled. "Why don't you call for a vote? Get the rest of our sector to vote on who they think is the best leader."

"You know," Numbuh Four smiled. "I like the sound of that. And I'd love to see the look on Numbuh One's face when he sees how bad I beat him!"

And so it was. The next morning (to Numbuh Five's despair, Numbuh One woke up with no help) Numbuh Four announced the rules for the vote to the rest of Sector V.

"Me and Numbuh One don't get to vote," he explained. "The rest of you will write down the Numbuh of the operative you think makes the best leader. Then when all Q of you have voted, we'll read out the results."

Each operative had been given a small piece of square paper and a pen. Numbuh Two put his result in the box, followed by Numbuh Three, and then Numbuh Five. "The results are in!" Numbuh Four called, holding up the box. "And I can now reveal that the best leader is... me! Thank you all for your votes, but there's no surprises there!"

"Uh... Numbuh Four?" Numbuh Two said, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you, like... count the votes first?"

"But I don't like counting..." Numbuh Four complained.

"Oh give me that!" Numbuh One said, taking the box from him. He reached inside and pulled out the first slip of paper, obviously the one that had been put in last. Numbuh One smiled.

Numbuh Four looked at the paper. "Whoever did this voted for a line!" he said angrily. "There's no one here called Numbuh Line!"

"That's my Numbuh," Numbuh One said to him. He reached inside for the next piece.

"Oh," Numbuh Four said sulkily. "Well... you watch out, Numbuh Line. Because the next vote's mine!"

"And so it is," Numbuh One said, when he saw the number '4' in scruffy writing on the sheet of paper.

"I'm unstoppable!" Numbuh Four cheered, punching his fists into the air.

"There's still one more," Numbuh One reminded him, reaching for the last piece of paper. "This is going to be the tie-breaker."

"And I think we all know who this is going to..." Numbuh Four said, smiling happily to himself.

"The last vote is for..." Numbuh One began as he got the paper out. He then looked a little confused, and read out, "... Numbuh Five?"

"Hey!" Numbuh Four said angrily.

"Whatever," Numbuh One shrugged. "But I can tell you, I'm ready to start leading again now... so let's just try and get on like normal..." Numbuh One left the room and got back to his job. Numbuhs Two, Three and Five were about to follow his lead, when they were stopped.

"Oh no, not just yet!" Numbuh Four said angrily. He turned to Numbuh Three. "Who'd ya vote for?" he asked angrily.

"You, silly!" Numbuh Three smiled.

"Oh, okay then!" Numbuh Four smiled. Then he thought for a second. "Hang on!" he said, turning to Numbuh Five. "Did you vote for yourself?"

"Nope," Numbuh Five replied. "Numbuh Five voted for Numbuh One - you should've seen that coming!"

"No, not really," Numbuh Four shrugged gormlessly. He stopped to think again. "So... it was you who broke the rules, Numbuh Two?" he asked, turning to the pilot standing behind him.

"Uh, breaking the rules?" Numbuh Two asked. "You said vote for the operative who you think makes the best leader, and that's what I did. You never said it was just between you and Numbuh One!"

"But Numbuh Five's done nothing to prove any leadership skills!" Numbuh Four complained.

"Actually," Numbuh Two said, now beginning to get aggressive. "Numbuh Five was the one who bothered to find out what was wrong with Numbuh One. And then she came up with the plan to get rid of Lizzie and stop Numbuh One's sousaphones lessons so he could get on with his life! Numbuh Five took responsibility in making sure he got better, and that's what being a leader is all about!"

Numbuh Five was just glad that Numbuh One hadn't been in the room to hear the bit about Lizzie. "Guys, Numbuh One told us to get on with our lives," she reminded them. "So how's about we just do that?"

Numbuh Four shrugged. "I guess," he said. "Might as well do what Numbuh Line says..."

He went back to his room, and then Numbuh Three ran after him. "Wait up, Numbuh Four!" she called. "We could hang out together!"

Numbuh Five smiled. "Guess we all knew she was gonna vote for the kid she was so obsessive over!" she sniggered quietly.

"Speak for yourself!" Numbuh Two grinned. "You sure seemed anxious to get rid of Lizzie..."

"Aw shaddup," was Numbuh Five's reply to this, and then she went to her own room. Then Numbuh Two smiled and left for his room.

The next day, the Kids Next Door had woken to the sound of the emergency siren; meaning Numbuh 65.3 would have a message for them. It was about an attack from the Delightful Children, and once the attack was over and the kids were victorious, Numbuh One announced, "Right team, I have to go and do the mission debriefing. The breached walls could do with some work, while I'm gone. Oh, and all those broken missiles and laser ashes on the floor aren't going to clean themselves. Hop to it, team!"

So while Numbuhs Three and Five cleaned up the floor, Numbuhs Two and Four started on the wall. "You know something, Numbuh Four?" asked Numbuh Two. "I'm beginning to think it was better when you were leader!"

End Transmission

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Please review and let me know what you think about my fic. Until my next one, peace out. 


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